Challenges of buying older home

[Nathaniel J Mott]

I’m planning on house hacking in the Raleigh area in the not too distant future. There are some homes that have been on the market for a long time, and are very inexpensive relative to the surrounding areas. They are generally old.

I know buying a home from 1900-1950 would require more rehab than something from 1960-2000+... but I’m curious to know what the major road blocks might be. For people who have invested in older homes, would you do it again?

[Damian Curtis]

I personally prefer properties that are 1970s and newer. You can certainly remodel older properties but since I'm a general contractor and I oversee all the remodels on our investments I like to have as few surprises as possible. 

When you get into properties the 1970s you usually have copper supply lines, ABS sewer lines and copper wiring (aluminum was used until 1973). All these materials are still common today and/or easy to adapt to and re-work. It makes construction a lot easier when you can relocate plumbing and electrical easily. Best of luck to you!

Here are some things to look out for or consider on older properties. The water supply lines are usually galvanized pipes in older houses. They sometimes can rust out over time and its not as easy to adapt new plumbing to it when moving or relocating pipes. Also the sewer lines were usually cast iron pipe above and below ground along with clay pipe being used underground sometimes. The cast iron can also rust out and cause leaks and it can be hard to adapt to once its rusted and brittle. Clay pipe can have roots grow onto them and also crack and crumble underground causing expensive repairs.

Aluminum wiring is another thing to be aware of. It was used in the 1960s through 1973. Aluminum wiring cause a lot of house fires and is not used anymore. If you do find aluminum in a house it not a deal breaker because you can have an electrician pigtail all the outlets and switches with copper for $600-800. Really old houses can have knob and tube wiring. If you have a house that old you are probably better off re-wiring the house to bring it up to current codes.

I don't want to scare you away from older houses because they tend to have a lot of character and can be really beautiful when remodeled right. These are just some tips and things to look for from a contractors perspective.